Keeping Your Eyes Open
by nicoandleoaremine
Summary: Percy dumped Nico for Annabeth. Now Nico and Emma are learning to pay attention to their surroundings... and each other. Neither notices each others feelings for the other, and they can't bring themselves to tell each other. Best friends, but too far apart. (Definitely not my best work. Don't kill me for it!)


**Emma's POV**

We dashed through the shadow portal just as the first gorgon began to reform. Blinking, I saw that Nico had brought us back to his cabin. I gasped as I realized Nico was clutching his shoulder. "Nico! What happened?" He groaned and leaned against the wall. "The hellhound. But I'm fine. I just need to rest." He slumped to the ground and I gently removed his hand from the gash in his arm. The cut was bleeding too much, and I was scared. Inwardly I laughed. I, scared for the Ghost King? The one boy who could never die, unless he let himself. The boy who would never go without a fight. Focusing on him again, I sighed. "Nico… you are not fine. You do not just need rest. Go sit on the couch, you idiot." He looked at his wound. "What? I've survived worse than this." Even through the pain, he still managed to give me that cocky, annoying smile... The same smile I hated every time he flashed it my way. It meant he didn't want me to worry. It meant he wanted me to focus on myself, for once, but as usual, there was nothing for me to focus on. Except him. I swallowed my nervousness and forced him to lie down. Raising my hands, I began to chant in Ancient Greek. "**_Από τα λόγια μου, ας τη ροή της υγείας. Από τα λόγια μου, ας σάρκα αυξάνεται. Από τα λόγια μου ..._**" ("From my words, let health flow. From my words, let flesh grow. From my words...") He tried to sit up, but I pushed him down again. "Stay!" I hissed, and continued to chant. He struggled and objected. "Emma, this'll take too much energy out of you. Just once, let me heal from nectar. I don't care if it takes longer, this is painful for you! I want you to stop! Please." I glared at him and lowered my arms. "It is _that_ much harder when someone is distracting me. Now be quiet." I pointed at him and spoke a single command word. "**_Κοιμάμαι!" _**("Sleep!") He fought for about three seconds until his head sank and hit the pillow. I relaxed, exhausted. "That idiot doesn't know anything. Doesn't he realize this is better?" I muttered to myself, and that was the last thing I remembered before blacking out on the floor of his cabin.

I woke up to torchlights and that smile on his face as he shook me. When my eyes opened and saw him, I pushed him and closed my eyes again. He laughed. "Oh, no, healing doesn't completely exhaust me at all! Don't worry Nico, now I'm going to use my magic in the way that you absolutely hate just so I can lie passed out on your floor." His mocking tone of voice shook me awake and I glared at him. Maybe I seemed hurt, because he looked away. "Sorry, Emma." I still thought it was amazing I was the only one he ever apologized to. He never would tell me why. My voice was muffled as I pulled on a clean hoodie of his (like usual. He said he hated it, but I couldn't help myself. I loved those hoodies and he never really seemed to complain anymore. Probably because he knew I wouldn't stop anyway). "It's all right." Turning around, I noticed Nico had been staring at me when I wasn't looking. "Uh… Earth to Nico?" He shook his head. "Sorry. I was thinking." He didn't have to tell me what he was thinking about. Ever since Percy had dumped him for that bitch Annabeth, I often caught him staring into space, looking haunted. Honestly, when he did that, I fell in love a little more. His face looked completely open, the one time in his life when I could read his emotions. Even now, I could tell just what he was feeling: sad, obviously, relieved, in a way, that he didn't have to deal with a relationship anymore, and a little bit confused, like he couldn't function in society anymore. Not that he ever really could. I walked over to him and simply hugged him, and for once, he didn't push me away. Maybe that meant he actually liked me, instead of the stage where he simply didn't not hate her. Or maybe he was still so depressed he just needed comfort, and for once, found it in the living, and not the dead. Who could tell? When I pulled away and held him by the shoulders (Gods of Olympus, he's almost as tall as me. When has this happened?), he looked up, and gave me the briefest of smiles. I loved it when I managed to make him laugh, or smile, and not the obnoxious, I-don't-need-anyone-I'm-the-Ghost-King smile. Just a simple small smile, and he had started doing it more and more around me. I don't think he noticed how much it affected me when he was happy.

**_Nico's POV_**

_When we had gone through the shadow portal, I hadn't even realized how bad it hurt until Emma had gasped. I hadn't even realized I was touching it. I really hated when she used her magic to heal whatever happened to me. It drained her. I hated making other people feel worse. I couldn't really help it, though. It was sort of a Child-of-Hades thing. No getting past the fact that I belonged with the dead. The dead were impossible to hurt. But when Emma did something for me, even when it didn't harm her, just made her go out of her way, I hate it 10 times more. There was something about Emma. I like her. I like her a lot, in fact, I like her more than anyone besides Bianca and Hazel. I even like her more than I used to like Percy, but in a different way. I think. Feelings confuse me. I try not to pay attention to them. Which, being at least half-human, was practically impossible. Like today, when I woke up, the first thing I thought of was Emma. Of course I should be mad at her. Of course I wanted to find her. But when I saw her lying on the floor, my anger crumpled and my shoulders tensed. She looked almost dead. So, of course, being the Nico I am, I decided to wake her up. (And be annoying about it, too.) When she tried to push me away and placed a hand on my chest, my heart skipped a beat, which was ridiculous. It's not like I had a crush on her. I couldn't have a crush on her, she was too… __Emma__. She was happy and peppy, and I was just sort of creepy and Goth. No one even tried to get to know me. Except the seven… and Emma. And the seven were forced to get to know me, I was living on their ship. Emma wasn't part of the quest. Not that that had kept her from living in my room and coming out only at night. Besides, she had totally kicked ass when the seven found out she was with us and finally let her fight during battles. Anyway, the point was, I couldn't have a crush on her, because she wouldn't like me back. I felt like her younger brother almost all the time. When she made me happy, she lit up like a candle in a dark room. It was like she was proud of me for smiling, or something. Maybe she was. Maybe all I was (and ever would be) was her fake younger brother._

_Ouch._

_Whenever she stole my hoodies (or my hats, or my beanies, or my shades, or my Vans) I always acted mad at her. I wonder if she notices I fake it. Gods of Olympus, she's really pretty. Even when she's doing mundane things- __especially__ when she's doing mundane things, like stealing my hoodie. I was staring at her back, thinking about how bad I wanted her to like me, and I didn't really notice when she turned back around, one sleeve on and one off. "Earth to Nico?" I snapped back to reality. "Oh… Sorry. I was thinking." I felt the wave of pity roll over me from her. Whenever I started going into Nicoland, everyone assumed I was still thinking about Percy. And, once or twice, I was. But almost always, my thoughts were on Emma. People always thought they could tell what I was thinking, what I was feeling, when I stared into space like that. They couldn't. I know I looked sad, of course I did, my dad is the mother-fluffing god of Death. I'm gonna be pretty depressed. But then they think I'm relieved, or confused, or lost. And I'm none of those things. I knew someone, someday, would find out what I was thinking. But not for a long time. Emma surprised me, like usual. She always hugged me, and I was always caught off guard, even though she did it constantly. But today, when she hugged me, I let her. On some crazy impulse, I let her. I just buried my face inside my hoodie, the hoodie I wanted to give her so she would stop stealing it. After what was far too long for my taste, she held me out at arm's length, and I realized with a start I was catching up to her in height. I felt like pretty soon she would be shorter. I smiled, a little, short smile, and watched her relax at the sight of it. Did I really hardly ever smile? Maybe I should smile more, just for her. But then she'd know I like her. I pushed away from her hands at last, picking up my sword from where I let it fall last night. Her face fell, but I didn't let her see that I saw. She busied herself with brushing her hair into a ponytail while she said, "How many people knew we were going on this quest this time?" I winced and turned around. "Um… what's the date today?" She looked at her watch (it was one of those waterproof, digital, knows everything watches) and replied, "It's the 18__th__, why?" I winced, again. "They probably won't have missed us… too much…" I prepared myself for her yelling. "You mean you didn't tell anyone? You idiot! We've been gone almost two weeks trying to find that stupid escaped soul and now everyone probably thinks we're dead!" She was furious. I muttered as I stared at the floor, "Maybe they think you're dead." She softened immediately. "Oh, Nico… I know they missed you." I turned on her. "But they wouldn't care if I died! They wouldn't notice! Maybe a few years later, some guy would ask his friend, "Hey, what happened to that creepy kid? I think his name started with an N?" And his friend would just shrug and reply, "Don't know, don't care." Maybe __eventually__, the news would get to Chiron and he would ask Hades what happened to me, and maybe __eventually__, there would be some memorial service for me, but who would go? Nobody! Nobody! It's all right for you. People understand you." My bitter, sarcastic tone shocked Emma. Not like it was much different than normal. For once, I didn't care that I had hurt her. I turned around and walked straight out the cabin. Growling at anyone and anything in my path, I fled to the woods, the one place no one could find me._

I was totally shocked by his outburst. He had seemed just fine a second ago, and the worst part was, I had thought he was starting to make friends. Besides me and the seven, he had gotten to know a lot of the Hephaestus kids, plus Malcolm from Athena's cabin had been talking to him. I really though he knew he was wanted. I sighed and walked out of Cabin 13, and as soon as I did, Lacy, the annoying 12 year old from Aphrodite's cabin bounced up. "Emma! Everyone's been looking for you and Nico!" I brightened for a second. She had included Nico! I knew he was making friends! Too bad he wasn't here to hear that.

Whoa. I sounded like an overprotective mother. For now, I decided to let him make his own friends.

My momentary happiness was ruined when I remembered Lacy called herself a "fangirl" and when she had a crush on somebody, she totally obsessed over them. And of course, she had a crush on Nico. "So where were you? Some epic quest? Did you two kiss?" She also said she "shipped Emico" which I found out meant she thought Nico and I should get together and Emico was a mix of our two names, our "ship" name. And yes, she "shipped" us as she had a crush on Nico. Go figure. I wearily brushed passed her. "Lacy, I'm really sorry, but Nico is mad and I need to find him. Have you seen him?" Lacy muttered something under her breath about "possible relationship trouble" "Emico" and "updating her blog". I didn't like the sound of that, but I let it go. "Yeah, he ran into the woods and totally ignored me when I asked him where he had been." I gave a quick "thank you" and dashed away. With any luck, I could find Nico and calm him down before anyone else knew we were here.

_Maybe I was being irrational. Maybe I should just go back to camp now, before it makes a big scene. As much as I hate that nobody cares about me, I hate having attention even more. I'm already mostly back to camp by the time I finish wondering if I'll ever fully fit in… or even partially. I walked passed Lacy, who, as usual, had her eyes glued to her laptop until I walked past. "Nico!" Oh, by Hades underpants, I hated that shrill noise. "Nico, everyone has totally been looking for you!" Wait, people had been looking for me? "Where's Emma?" I growled. "Oh, I told her you were in the woods." Lacy seemed uninterested in Emma. Emma always told me Lacy had a crush on me and hated all girls who appeared close to me. Which were about three girls. And two were my sisters. "She ran off that way." Lacy pointed in the general direction of the most dangerous part of the woods. "What? She went in there?" I was furious. "Why in Hades would she go in there?" Lacy shrugged vaguely. "I dunno. She probably thought you were stupid enough to risk your life in there." She continued writing on her laptop as I ran into the woods. "Gods damn it Emma! You stupid girl!" I muttered as I followed a trail, the way I could always track someone. Suddenly I stopped. The trail had veered to the left so sharply she almost went backward. Something was wrong. My senses heightened, like always when I felt danger. Probably the one perk of being ADHD. Everything seemed louder, the insects buzzing, the stream bubbling, the hissing of some monster behind me. Wait. Hissing? Behind me? "Schist." I muttered as I flipped back and cleaved down with my sword. A dracaena dissolved into dust as I let my heart rate come down. Hearing nothing else, I slowly turned, looking for other enemies. I stopped when I saw blood on a tree. My heart rate went up again when I noticed it was Emma's blood. She was close, and dying. I could feel it. I sprinted through the trees, trusting the one power a child of Hades will ever have. When I saw her body, pale white, whiter than my skin, I nearly started crying. "Em… Oh, gods, Em, no, you aren't dead yet. You can't be dead yet." Looking back, I could have just sensed if she was dead then, but emotions tend to cloud Death ESP. (I thought Bianca had come up with a pretty good name for it, but everyone else thought that was creepy.) "Oh, gods, oh, gods…" I checked her pulse. My own nearly stopped when I felt how faint it was, and something stung my eyes. Wiping my face with my sleeve, I was shocked to learn I was crying. I do __not__ cry. I'm the Ghost King, for Hades' sake! Immediately I went to work, taking off my shirt and tearing it into bandages. The dracaena had crept up behind her and slashed her in the back. She was losing too much blood, too fast. "Emma! You are __not __dying on me! I owe you way too many favors to let you die on me!" I raised my voice. "CHIRON? SOMEONE, PLEASE! COME INTO THE WOODS! EMMA'S DYING!" My voice cracked. "Oh gods, please, someone come!" I lay there for too long, attempting to keep her from dying. Why didn't I ever have ambrosia on hand? I slumped. No one was coming. I can't shadow travel all that well yet, but it was my only chance. I closed my eyes. "Dining pavilion. Camp." And everything twisted and went dark. I opened my eyes, and the sunshine was too bright. Groaning, I blinked and hoped I was in the right place. I saw Chiron and the other campers, staring at me from where I had transported onto the Athena table. Oops. It was lunchtime, and I blushed when I realized my shirt was on Emma, in the form of bandages, and my skinny chest was visible to all. "Schist." I muttered and then cleared my throat. "Emma is in the woods. She's almost dead. We have to hurry." With that, I jumped off the table and ran to Chiron. "If we shadow travel, we'll be there in time." Chiron nodded seriously, and the world went upside down again. This time, there was almost no light. Perfect. People thought my eyes were like cats, because people swore they glowed in the dark. I dragged Chiron to Emma's limp body and felt her pulse again. "She's still alive. Barely breathing. Do you have nectar?" He nodded and took out his medical supplies. I breathed a sigh of relief. Emma would make it. Her time to die was not anytime soon. Chiron looked up, just as the first Apollo kids found us. "She's fine. I think she'll sleep for a very long time, though." As if on cue, Emma's eyes opened in that exact moment. _

Ok, so maybe going in the deepest part of the woods, unarmed, completely worried was not the best idea. When the dracaena attacked, I didn't even have time to use magic. And of course, the first thing I saw when I woke up was Nico shirtless. NOT good for my concentration. "Huh.. What?" He was tense with worry. "Emma, what were you thinking? Why would you go looking for me- unarmed- in the deepest, most dangerous part of the woods? You idiot!" Ok, maybe he was tense with anger. Either way, he was still shirtless, and it was still not helping me focus. I closed my eyes as the Apollo kids put me onto a stretcher. "Yeah, I know. Sorry." I said halfheartedly. Eyes open again, I saw him slump and put his face in his hands. "You could have died." I couldn't breathe for a second. He actually cared if I died. I mean, of course he _cared_. He had a heart. But in that moment, he sounded like he really, absolutely, would have been heartbroken if I died. He glanced up and, seeing me staring, glared at me. "Idiot." He walked away. "Nico!" He didn't look back, and that was when I passed out again, just as he stepped into a shadow portal.


End file.
